One Step at a Time

This morning I decided that a workout and some natural endorphins would be good for the body and mind. I used to run a lot and I know it made a difference in reducing stress and anxiety. My knees are not what they used to be and that has kept me off the road as of late. In my opinion there is nothing like lacing up my running shoes and breathing in some fresh air as I exercise. However, since it is cold and raining and I haven't had knee replacement surgery, I went down in the basement and got on the elliptical. It isn't quite the same but it works as a substitute. We all have our coping mechanisms that get us through tougher times and some of those mechanisms are healthier than others. I NEED to get on the elliptical more often rather than sitting on the couch and crying my way through recorded episodes of Adoption Stories on the Discovery Channel.

As I was rocking out to Closer to Fine by the Indigo Girls on the elliptical, I started thinking about all the other songs that have really helped me through this wait. Have you ever listened to a song and thought that it was written specifically for you? I am not a music buff by any means and often discover musicians way after they have already been discovered. My sister is usually the one who introduces me to new music that I end up wondering how I ever lived without. Abby makes a mean mix CD (that just doesn't have the same ring to it as mix tape) and I love it every time she gives me a new one. She knows my taste and includes music from all genres. I love how hearing a song can bring back a particular memory. Every time I listen to Stay by Lisa Loeb I go back to driving around Tulsa with one my high school best friends, Carrie, in her maroon Toyota. We would turn the volume up as we drove past the homes of our high school crushes and would open the sunroof and belt out the lyrics. I can just smell the Oklahoma summer air. Or like when I hear As Cool as I Am by Dar Williams, I can just see all my college girlfriends dancing around the dirty kitchen floor of Fell House and singing, "I will not be afraid of women." I know that years from now when I listen to some of the tunes that I have on repeat these days it will take me back to this wait and the longing, the aching and the hoping. Here are some lyrics that Abby passed along to me in her latest CD.

Hurry up and wait

So close, but so far away

Everything that you've always dreamed of

Close enough for you to taste but you just can't touch

In your face as the door keeps slamming

Now you're feeling more and more frustrated

And you're getting all kind of impatient waiting

We live and we learn to take one step at a time

It's like learning to fly or falling in love

It's GONNA happen and it's Supposed to happen that we

find the reasons why one step at a time

You believe and you doubt

You're confused, you got it all figured out

Everything that you wished for

Could be yours, should be yours, would be yours

If they only knew

When you can't wait any longer

But there's no end in sight

It's the faith that makes you stronger

The only way you get there

Is one step at a time

-Jordin Sparks